Munich. The battle for the coveted championship points in the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour reached a further climax when Thomas Pagès took victory on the fifth stop of the tour in Munich last Saturday. 30,000 thrilled spectators witnessed a Flair never before displayed in a contest when Pagès executed a 540-degree turn in the air with his bike. Even without a backflip in his repertoire, the young Frenchman won the penultimate stage of the tour while simultaneously writing FMX history.

This event series sees the world’s best freestyle motocross riders competing against each other in six contests. With its John Cooper Works sub-brand, MINI is the official partner of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour.

Sporting event of superlatives.

In a sensational contest, participants give of their best, pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible. The world’s 12 best freestyle motocross riders wowed the crowds with their daredevil leaps and stunning tricks at dizzying heights, repeatedly taking the spectators’ collective breath away. In a nailbiting finale, it was ultimately Frenchman Thomas Pagès who sealed a close-won victory against defending title champion Dany Torres of Spain and Eigo Sato of Japan. “Right up to the end I wasn’t sure whether I could make a clean landing after the really difficult tricks. Plus, in the final I was already a bit exhausted.

But then I could feel how the crowd was behind me and cheering me on, and that gave me a real energy boost. The spectators were just amazing,” said a delighted Thomas Pagès. After his win, the 24-year-old is now level-pegging at the top of the overall standings with Saturday’s sixth-placed finisher Levi Sherwood of New Zealand. They have 235 points each.

Munich was hosting the event for the first time in the history of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour. Following Dubai, Glen Helen, Istanbul and Madrid, the Bavarian capital was the fifth and penultimate stop before everyone heads down under to Sydney for the exciting final on 6 October 2012.

MINI is involved in action sports around the world through cooperations and sponsoring activities. As a partner of trend-conscious sports, MINI supports young and creative sportspeople and, in so doing, promotes the development of their sport. MINI became the official partner of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour in 2012.